![]() ![]() 305, and after various augusti and caesars battled for power, the empire reunited when Constantine I defeated his co-rulers in A.D. The tetrarchy fell apart shortly after Diocletian's abdication in A.D. Diocletian, who became emperor in 284, experimented with various configurations of imperial government." Diocletian established a tetrarchy, or rule of four, between two senior emperors, or augusti - one in the east and one in the west - and two junior rulers, or caesars. "However, the principle of collegiate rulership had been part of the framework of imperial government for more than a century at that point. The most common date given is 395, when Theodosius I died and was succeeded by his sons Arcadius and Honorius, who became rulers in the East and West respectively," Humphries said. "We often think of happening at one specific point in time. The split of the Roman Empire was a long time coming, and divisions had occurred prior to the final, permanent East-West divide in the fourth century, according to Humphries. Related: Is Latin a dead language? Final split Splitting the empire, it was thought, would make it easier to oversee these various, very often different, regions and cultures. ![]() Many "Romans," given the scale of the Empire, had little or no affiliation with the city of Rome itself. ![]() The second is that by the fourth century, the definition of "Roman" had changed to encompass provincial elites all the way from Scotland to Iraq. ![]() The first is the rise of Persia to superpower status in the 3rd century, which meant Rome had to have an emperor somewhere close to the Persian frontier," Heather said. So what else played a part? "In my view, two additional factors compounded the basic problem of distance. A.D., and we only see a systemic split in the 4th century," Heather said.Īt its height, the Roman Empire's roads traversed continents to connect important cities and towns to its capital city. "Size is not the total explanation, because it was that big from the 1st c. As a result, attacks and unwanted border crossings - predominantly by Goths and other barbarian groups - became more common and more difficult to deal with in an effective and timely manner.īut Heather agreed that its size was not the only factor in the Roman Empire's split. It became so large that it incorporated many different regions and cultures, and as it grew, so too did its borders. The Roman Empire was, to some extent, a victim of its own success. It stretched from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to what is now part of Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria in the east. Given the real measure of distance is how long it takes a person to cover ground, the Empire was, to all intents and purposes, 20 times bigger than it appears to us today."Īt its height, the Roman Empire covered much of Europe, as well as parts of Africa and Asia. "Over land, it was possible to travel about 20 miles a day, whereas now we can go maybe 400. "The Roman Empire was the biggest state western Eurasia has ever seen and, even though it looks big on the map, it was even bigger in practice because of communication speeds," Peter Heather, professor of medieval history at King's College London in England, told Live Science in an email. Nevertheless, the empire's size was impressive, and created numerous challenges. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |